


Happy Accidents

by RaaorQtpbpdy



Category: Baka to Test to Shokanju | Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Anesthesiologist Kinoshita Hideyoshi, Broken Engagement, Canon-Typical Shouko, F/F, F/M, Fashion Photographer Tsuchiya Kouta, Future Fic, Himeji Mizuki and Kinoshita Hideyoshi Went to a Different High School, Hospitals, M/M, Multi, Non-binary Kinoshita Hideyoshi, Nurse Himeji Mizuki, Other, Post-Canon, Queer Themes, Surgery, because this is the future, headcanons, queer friend group
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:29:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27556897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaaorQtpbpdy/pseuds/RaaorQtpbpdy
Summary: Kouta's had it rough lately. His fiancée Aiko broke up with him, and on top of that, he has a serious shoulder injury and needs surgery. He wasn't expecting to get such a kind anesthesiologist. He wasn't expecting to accidentally tell that anesthesiologist he loved him when he was high before the surgery. He wasn't expecting to ever see that anesthesiologist again.Things don't always go the way one expects.
Relationships: Kinoshita Hideyoshi/Tsuchiya Kouta, Kirishima Shouko/Sakamoto Yuuji, Kubo Toshimitsu/Yoshii Akihisa, Shimada Minami/Shimizu Miharu, mentions of past relationships
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	1. I Still Love You, Aiko

"Sorry Kouta, but this has gotten too serious for me." Aiko laughed in his memories, like their whole relationship had been a joke. "I like you, and I love how you make me laugh, but you're just not husband material, ya know. You're not even really boyfriend material, so the fact that we lasted long enough to get engaged is kinda wild."

"You're really breaking off our engagement?" he asked. He shouldn't have asked. Looking back on it, he should have nodded and walked away before she could hurt him even more. 

"Yeah, sorry man. I mean when I started going out with you I was mostly just messing with you. I definitely never thought you'd be the type to want a long-term relationship, forget marriage." She laughed again. He used to adore the sound of her laugh, but remembering it now made his stomach turn, and his heart climb into his throat. The last time her hand touched his was when she pressed the engagement ring he'd gotten her into his palm and said, "See ya around, dude."

After his fiancée broke off their engagement, Kouta didn't really want to do anything. He was already taking time off of work because of his shoulder injury, so he lounged around his house, half-high on pain meds, eating ice-cream, watching porn, and feeling sorry for himself. 

He couldn't reschedule surgery because of a broken heart, though, especially when his shoulder hurt so badly some days that he could hardly think of anything else, so five days after his fiancée laughed in is face and said, "see ya around, dude," he dragged himself out of the house, pulled himself together, and his friend Yoshii drove him to the hospital. 

He sat in the waiting room reading a fashion magazine that he'd taken some of the photos for. He was pretty happy with how most of them turned out, but there was one in particular, a skin cream ad, where the magazine editor had photoshopped his work after he was finished with it, and it was subtle, but it went against the lighting and he was still frowning at it when the nurse called him in and escorted him back to a room with a large machine in it. 

The nurse was gorgeous, and he tried to flirt with her, like he always did, but then she laughed at his advances, and he couldn't after that. She sat him down on a cushioned table opposite the machine and took his blood pressure, and checked his heart rate, and then handed him a hospital gown.

"The anesthesiologist will be here in a few minutes and he'll give you your nerve block before the surgery," she said. "Change into that." Then she left, and Kouta changed into the hospital gown and sat on the bed to wait about twenty or so minutes for the anesthesiologist. 

"Hi, I'm Dr. Hideyoshi Kinoshita," the anesthesiologist introduced with a warm smile, "and before you say anything, I am a guy."

"You get mistaken for a girl a lot, I guess?" Kouta said. It made sense. He was slender with round face and wide eyes and long eyelashes that gave him a more feminine appearance. The hair clips holding back his bangs weren't making him look more masculine, either. 

"Yeah. I used to think it was the long hair, but I cut it short and it didn't seem to make any difference." Dr. Kinoshita was carrying a bag over his shoulder which he put down on a nearby counter and unzipped it. "So how're you feeling?" 

"A little nervous," Kouta admitted. "But I'm glad to be getting this shoulder dealt with."

"It's your right shoulder, correct?" Kouta nodded. "Well, you don't need to be nervous because I have done this a hundred times, and I've never messed it up. Well, once while I was still in school, but nothing bad happened." Kouta smiled a little. "Alright, this machine is called a fluoroscope, and it's kinda like an X-ray. It helps me see under your skin so I know I'm injecting the nerve-block in the right place. May I please have you lay face down over here?" 

Kouta nodded and did as he was instructed. "So what now doc?"

"Now I inject you with this." He held a small jar of clear liquid in front of Kouta so he could see it. "It's just an anti-inflammatory drug which will affect the nerves in your shoulder and temporarily stop them from sending pain signals to your brain. I'll inject it around the nerves causing you pain, and it'll ease the pain throughout the surgery. Just have to clean it with alcohol first." 

Dr. Kinoshita moved the hospital gown out of the way and started to prep the area for injection. Kouta felt the cold press of alcohol on his sore shoulder, but didn't flinch. Dr. Kinoshita had a very comforting presence about him, and Kouta wasn't nervous at all anymore. 

"I'm going to count to three and then I'm going to stick the needle in," he said. "You'll feel pressure for a moment, and it'll sting, but then it'll be over, and we'll have to wait a few minutes for the drug to kick in." he counted, and Kouta grunted as the needle pierced his skin. Then the needle came out, and he felt a bandage being stuck on. "Don't sit up just yet, I might have to add a partial dose more if it wasn't enough." He rubbed his fingers on the injection site to spread the medicine and Kouta bit back a pained groan.

"So what do you do?" 

"I'm a photographer," Kouta said. "Mostly advertisements, but I also do a lot of photoshoots for a fashion magazine." 

"So you probably meet a lot of models then, right?" Dr. Kinoshita said. "I bet your friends get jealous."

"Yeah," Kouta said. "My fiancée was a model."

"Was?" 

"She broke off the engagement last week." 

"I'm sorry to hear that. It must've been awful." His voice was comforting too.

"Yeah. She laughed. Our whole relationship was a joke to her," Kouta hadn't spoken to anyone about this since the bartender he'd cried to the evening it happened. "I'm still pretty messed up about it to be honest." 

"Well it's only been a week, so that's understandable," he said. "Does it hurt when I do this?" 

"Did you do something?" Kouta asked, turning his head to see that Dr. Kinoshita was putting pressure on his shoulder. "I barely feel anything." 

"Good. You can sit up now." Kouta did and Dr. Kinoshita met his eyes. "That's a terrible thing to have happen, but time heals all wounds, and someday you'll realize that if she laughed when she broke up with you, it's probably for the best that you didn't marry her." 

"Thanks," Kouta says, and he means it.

"It's okay to feel sorry for yourself for a while, though," he says with a smile, and Kouta smiles back. "I have to get Himeji so she can take you where you're supposed to be, and I'll see you when it's time for the procedure to put you under. I hope the pain eases soon, both physical and emotional." Kouta almost laughed, and then Dr. Kinoshita was gone.

The same nurse from before took him to a room with a bed on wheels and told him he'd be going into surgery soon. Not long after, he was wheeled out by another nurse or doctor, he wasn't sure which, and taken to the surgical room. The anesthesiologist was there, and for some reason his presence put Kouta completely at ease. 

He put the mask over Kouta's face to knock him out for the surgery and after a moment, Kouta mumbled something. He wasn't sure what. The mask was pulled away for a second, and Kouta stared directly into Dr. Kinoshita's eyes and said something else he couldn't really remember. The next thing he knew, he was waking up in a bed in another hospital room. 

"Morning sunshine," greeted the nurse from before. She seemed to be smiling for no reason and even giggled a bit when she looked at him. "I'll go tell Aiko you woke up," she said as she walked out. 

He was still pretty out of it, so that didn't strike him as odd in any way at first. Of course she would tell his fiancée that he was awake. Then he remembered that Aiko wasn't his fiancée anymore, and he got sad. Then he got confused because how did that nurse even know his ex-fiancée's name? A couple minutes later Dr. Kinoshita walked in looking none too pleased. 

"Thanks for the nickname," he said irritably, leaning against a counter and crossing his arms.

"What?" 

"You probably don't remember this, but you were mumbling something when I put you under, so I took the mask away to hear what you were saying, and you held direct eye contact with me and said 'I still love you, Aiko'," he explained. "So of course the entire surgical staff called me that for the duration of the surgery, and Himeji called me that when she came to tell me you were awake." 

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry doc," Kouta apologized, eyes blown wide in mortification. 

"It's fine," he said. "I'm annoyed now, but it'll be a funny story to tell down the road, at least." 

"Seriously I am so, so sorry."

"You didn't have control over what you were saying," he said with a sigh, even after complaining to and about Kouta he was comforting. "I've heard weirder things, I promise." 

Then the nurse, Himeji, Dr. Kinoshita had called her, appeared again, carrying a plastic bag. "Here are your clothes Mr. Tsuchiya," she said politely, and handed him the bag. "It looks like your follow-up surgery is already scheduled, so come back in two weeks. We'll give you a phone call to remind you." 

"Thanks."

"I'll leave so you can get changed," Dr. Kinoshita said. Once he was gone, Nurse Himeji looked at Kouta and took a few steps closer so she could talk more quietly. 

"I'm sorry, but I have to ask: who's Aiko?" 

"Ex-fiancée," Kouta grunted. "Oh god." His face heated up and he put it in his hands. Not only had he called the poor guy by a woman's name which stuck with him for the entire surgery, which was an especially crappy thing to do to a guy who often got mistaken for a woman, but he'd also professed his love for him. "Oh my god." 

Nurse Himeji laughed. "You're not the first person to hit on Hideyoshi while under anesthesia, but that was something else." She was still giggling as she walked out, telling him he should get changed so he could go home. 

He texted Yoshii that he was out of surgery, and his friend texted him back that he'd be there in ten minutes to pick him up. Then he changed into his jeans and button-up shirt, putting a sling on to support his shoulder, and Nurse Himeji came back and took him out to the front curb in a wheelchair. 

"Oh my god! Why are you in a wheelchair‽" Yoshii shouted, climbing out of his car and looking horrified at Kouta. "I thought the surgery was for your shoulder! Did something go wrong‽ Can you not walk‽" 

"He's fine," Nurse Himeji said. "We always take patients out in wheelchairs after surgery. There's no need to panic."

"Oh thank goodness for that," he said, then he looked at her and smiled that dumb, sweet smile that always, inexplicably, had girls (and Kubo) falling for him instantly. 

Kouta got up out of the wheelchair and Nurse Himeji went back inside, blushing as pink as her hair, without another word. 

"So how was the surgery?" Yoshii asked him as they climbed into the car. 

"Oh yeah, it was fine. Everything went well. I called the anesthesiologist Aiko and told him I loved him, but other that that it went great," Kouta said. "I have a follow up surgery in two weeks." 

"Hold on _what_?" Yoshii demanded. "Roll back and run that middle part by me again."

"I will not." 

"She broke up with you, man!"

"It was only _five days ago_ , don't I get a little time to get over her?" Kouta stared out his window, not wanting to look at his friend. 

"Guys don't get over break-ups with _time_ , we get over break-ups with rebounds," Yoshii told him, turning out of the hospital's driveway and onto the road. "So what about this anesteliologist? Was she hot?" 

"That's not how you pronounce it, and he was a guy," Kouta said. 

"Okay, then was _he_ hot?" Yoshii corrected without skipping a beat. "I mean if you compared him to an activewear model, then he's gotta be, right?" 

"Is this why you were so chill about getting together with Kubo after Minami left you for Miharu?" he deflected, even loopy from the anesthesia which was slowly starting to wear off, he knew he was deflecting. "Gender just means nothing to you when it comes to a partner, huh?" 

"Not really, no. And I'll have you know, Kubo and I are very happy together." 

"Yeah, well you oughta be, poor guy's been crushing on you since high school." Kouta scoffed. "I don't know how you never noticed, everyone knew."

"We are not talking about my dumb ass," Yoshii said. "We all know I'm the biggest idiot on the face of the earth. We're talking about the sexy analegiologist." 

" _Anesthesiologist_ , dude, not even close." Kouta turned back to his friend to give him a look. "There's nothing to talk about. I was high. I somehow mistook him for Aiko. The surgical staff thought it was hilarious and called him Aiko during the surgery. Then afterwards he came to chew me out." 

"He did _what_ ‽" 

" _Complained_ , Yoshii, 'chew out' is not the same as 'eat out'. I know where your mind goes."

"Oh." 

"It was mortifying, but it's not like I'll ever see him again."


	2. The Straight Friend™

Two weeks later, when Kouta went back for his second surgery, who should end up as his anesthesiologist but Dr. Kinoshita. 

"Oh, it's you again," he said lightly when he saw Kouta on the table. He seemed to have gotten over the incident from their last encounter because he didn't seem upset or displeased to see Kouta. "Back so soon?" 

"Well, by appointment, yeah." 

"Have you been doing better since last I saw you?" 

"Yeah," he said. The conversation they'd had during his last appointment had been really helpful, and he really had been feeling better about everything. 

"I'm glad to hear that your shoulder's not bothering you as much." Dr. Kinoshita smiled.

"Oh, you meant my shoulder," Kouta cleared his throat and shifted awkwardly. "Yeah, I think there's definitely been an improvement since the last surgery, but it's still kind of stiff and sore." 

"That's to be expected," Dr. Kinoshita said. "I'm going to do another nerve block, so the soreness should ease after that. Could you lay face down on the table for me? I'm going to use to fluoroscope and then sterilize the injection site." 

Kouta did so, putting as little weight as possible on his injured shoulder. Then nodded when Dr. Kinoshita confirmed that it was his right shoulder once more. He took a deep breath and felt strangely relaxed as the doctor started prepping for the nerve block. He felt instinctively that he was in good hands, and despite the embarrassment of his last visit, he though he really would rather have Dr. Kinoshita than anyone else. 

"What about Aiko? Feeling a little better about your break up?" he asked, and Kouta looked up and saw him getting the needle ready. 

"Yeah." Kouta said, putting his head back down again. "I'm glad I took time to get over it like you suggested, rather than finding a rebound like Yoshii told me to. I really can't picture that ending well."

"Is Yoshii your friend?" Kouta felt the doctors hand on his back and grunted a little as he felt around for the right spot. "I'm going to inject it now," he said, and counted down from three. Kouta sucked in a deep breath.

"Uh, yeah, Yoshii's my best friend," Kouta said, trying to focus on the conversation instead of the needle, and finding it easier than he expected. "He and I have known each other since middle school, as well as our other friend Yuuji and his psycho fiancée Shoko, although she went to a private school."

"In what way is she psycho?" Dr. Kinoshita asked as he massaged the injection site to spread the medicine. 

"She's like insanely possessive, and an unrepentant sadist, and Yuuji says he can't stand her, even though everyone knows that's not true and he's just a scaredy-cat. But their marriage was arranged in high school as some kind of business merger for their stupidly wealthy families," Kouta explained. "I don't really get it, to be honest. Yuuji's been trying in vain to break off the engagement for years but the best he's been able to do is postpone their wedding."

"Sounds like a tricky situation," Dr. Kinoshita chuckled. "So, your friend Yuuji, he doesn't want to marry this Shoko woman?" 

"Not at all, or at least, not yet. He wants to play the field first I think, but she is dead set on marrying him, even before their engagement was officially arranged." Kouta laughed too. "He's tried everything, even reporting her to the police for stalking, but her family made the charges go away. He offered to let me have Shoko after Aiko dumped me, but obviously that didn't work. He even told his parents he was gay." 

"Is he gay?"

"No, he's bi—and I know he wouldn't mind me telling you. I don't want you to think I'm the kind of person who just outs people—but he was totally ready to commit to never dating women again if it meant getting out of his engagement," Kouta explained. "I couldn't do something like that, but then again, I'm not into guys. It didn't work, anyway. His parents basically told him to suck it up and he could have as many affairs as he wanted as long as he kept them quiet." 

"Charming..."

"Yeah, his folks pretty much suck," Kouta said. "I was actually surprised though, because they didn't seem to mind that he was into guys at all, they just weren't going to let him end his engagement. They're real old fashioned, but I guess they're even more old fashioned than I thought."

"What do you mean? Oh, and you can sit up now." 

"Well, knowing what I know about them, I figured they'd be, you know, 'homosexuality is wrong,' old fashioned, but they turned out to be 'as long as you marry a woman you can fuck whoever you please,' old fashioned, like ancient emperors and nobles and guys like that," he explained as he righted himself. 

"I see... you know, I think I've heard that before."

"I learned that from another friend of ours, Kubo, who's a total nerd," Kouta said, he frowned thoughtfully. "Actually, I don't know if I know Kubo well enough to really say he's a friend. We went to high school together but we were in different classes, and he's Yoshii's boyfriend but we don't really hang out, so I don't know."

"Are all of your friends queer?" Dr. Kinoshita asked casually leaning back in his chair. 

"No there's... well there's me," Kouta said, rubbing the back of his neck with his left hand. "It wasn't a thing back in middle school, but everyone started coming out in high school until in third year I was officially dubbed the 'one straight friend'." 

"You know I don't normally tell patients this, because I never know how they'll react, but I'm actually non-binary," Dr. Kinoshita said. "I'd like to be out to everyone, but I made that mistake early on in my career and one particularly bigoted patient refused anesthesia because I was the one administering it, so I don't do that anymore." 

"Man, that _sucks_ —I mean, not man, person, is dude gender neutral? Some people think it is, but some people get mad if you call them dude." Dr. Kinoshita laughed. "So why do you tell people you're a guy?" 

"I still prefer masculine pronouns, since that's what I've used all my life, so it's just easier to say that than to allow people to make their own assumptions. Especially as people almost invariably assume I'm a girl, ever since I was young, despite my not being biologically female." He shrugged. "Anyway, I should test your shoulder now."

"Yeah, go ahead." Kouta turned to give the doctor easier access. 

"Does this hurt?" Kouta shook his head. "How about now." 

"I barely feel anything," Kouta answered. "I think we're good doc." 

"Great. I'll go get Himeji, and I'll see you in surgery." He smiled at Kouta really sweetly, and Kouta smiled back easily, like it was a reflex. Smiling had never been a reflex of Kouta's. He wasn't the smiley type. He couldn't help but feel comfortable around Dr. Kinoshita. There was no other way for him to feel. 

Kouta managed not to embarrass himself while under anesthesia this time, he was pretty sure. He chatted with the nurse for a while, confirming that he wasn't in any overwhelming pain, instructing him on how to take his pain meds, and setting up a post-surgery check up for six weeks, and Dr. Kinoshita came by his room to see him off. Thankfully this time there were no embarrassing mishaps to tell him about, but unfortunately, Kouta was still a little loopy from the anesthesia and couldn't totally control what he was saying. 

"Hey doc, are you dating anyone?" he asked, and he wasn't sure exactly what made him think of the question, or why he had asked it. If he was perfectly honest, he was only registering about a third of anything that was said since he woke up. 

"I'm not," Dr. Kinoshita answered lightly. "Why? Are you offering?" 

"Nah, no, I'm... actually, you're not a guy, huh?" Kouta mumbled. "Guess 'I'm straight's not really a reason, then, but I'm not quite there yet."

"Yes, I figured as much. I was merely joking." He was smiling. 

"Don't joke with people's feelings. 'S not nice," Kouta frowned. "That's what Aiko did with me and turns out, Aiko was a _bitch_... no, she was a nice lady, but she was a bad girlfriend." 

"I know," Dr. Kinoshita said gently and Kouta nodded, satisfied. Himeji came into the room to say that someone had come to pick him up. "I shall bid you farewell, then. Perhaps I'll see you once again someday." 

After he left, Nurse Himeji wrote something down on a slip of paper and handed it to Kouta with a sly smile and a wink. He looked at it, then put it in his pocket and promptly forgot what it said. With that, she wheeled him out through the hallways to the front of the hospital. 

"Holy shit! Why are you in a wheelchair‽" Yoshii demanded, then stopped dead and glared at Kouta with narrowed eyes. "Wait a minute, I'm not gonna fall for the same trick twice." 

"It's not a trick, Yoshii," Kouta said, rolling his eyes as he got up, wobbling, and a little lopsided. His right arm was in a sling again to support his shoulder, and he was supposed to wear it for at least a few days, so he supposed he'd have to get used to it. "They escort all of their patients out in wheelchairs." 

"Right, right," Yoshii said. "Get in, we're going out for drinks with Kubo and Yuuji to celebrate your newly healed arm."

"I'm not supposed to have alcohol until I'm off the heavy painkillers," Kouta said, sliding into the passenger seat. He waited until Yoshii was in the car to finish his thought. "We'll have to postpone the drinks."

"Fine, fine, as long as it's doctor's orders, I guess there's no choice," Yoshii relented. "But only postpone, not cancel." He started up the car and started out of the hospital parking lot. "So, do I get an update on the hot aaaa... uh... amethyst?" 

"That's a rock, Yoshii." 

"Aaaarcheologist?"

"That's someone who digs up artifacts and things."

"Um... antithesis?" 

"You've been spending a lot of time with Kubo, right?" Kouta guessed. "I'd say your vocabulary's improving, but you don't actually know what that word means." 

"Oh, back off." Yoshii pulled his phone out of his pocket while he was waiting to turn left, and pressed a few buttons to start a call.

"Akihisa?" answered a familiar voice. 

"Hey Toshi, you're on speakerphone," Yoshii greeted. "What's the word I'm thinking of? It's a type of doctor; I think it starts with an 'A'." 

"Anesthesiologist?" Kubo suggested. 

"That's the one! Anesthesapologist. Thanks babe!" 

"You're welcome... is that all you called me for?" 

"Yeah, but actually, Kouta can't have alcohol 'cause of his surgery or something, so we're postponing the celebration," Yoshii said, finally turning onto the road. "Do you wanna go on a date tonight instead?"

"I would love to." Kouta could hear the bright smile in Kubo's voice. 

"Hold on, Kubo, do you guys do this often?" Kouta demanded, a little belatedly. "He just calls you out of the blue and asks you questions? And you answer them on the first go even though they're super vague? That's really weird you guys." 

"I think it's cute," Kubo argued. "And it's a fun mental exercise."

"Yeah Toshi thinks I'm cute," Yoshii said indignantly. "I'll pick you up after I drop off Kouta. See ya later!" 

"I look forward to it." Kubo ended the call. It was common knowledge that Yoshii couldn't be trusted to be on the phone while driving. Even just having a conversation could spell trouble if they weren't paying attention to him and making sure he kept his eyes on the road. 

"Ok, so the hot anesthesologyist? Any updates?" 

"I don't recall ever telling you he was hot," Kouta deadpanned. "And what makes you think it was even the same person this time?" 

"Your eyes told me," Yoshii said confidently, even though it was utter crap. Kouta sighed heavily and looked out his window. "Come ooon, man! You gotta have something for me! I can tell." 

"Ok fine, he's non-binary, and he's single. Does that make you happy?"

"Yes! That means he's officially on the market for our beloved straight friend!" Yoshii said excitedly. He turned to look at his friend in the passenger seat but Kouta pushed his head away so he was facing forward. "Did you get his number?" 

"No, he was my doctor. That would be totally inappropriate." 

"Please don't tell me this is you still not being over Aiko," Yoshii groaned. "It's been more than a month now, isn't that enough time?" 

"Shut up and keep your eyes on the road." 


	3. A Mysterious Note

A few weeks later, when Kouta was no longer taking horse tranquilizers to numb the pain in his healing shoulder, and no longer had to wear his sling, his friends rescheduled their celebration. Since they had a little more time to plan, they found a day that they could all attend. They were trying a new place because of a mysterious note Kouta had found while doing laundry. 

_The July - bar and restaurant_

_Go after 7 pm on a Saturday._

_Good Luck ; )_

After he told his friends about the note, and about how he'd found it in the pocket of the pants he'd worn the day of his last surgery, his friends insisted on going there for the celebration. Minami said it was like fate, since they'd already planned to go out on a Saturday around seven. 

Kouta got dressed in jeans and a button up shirt, since he still didn't have enough range of motion for a t-shirt, and looked up directions to the restaurant where they would be meeting. 

When he walked in the door and looked around he spotted Yoshii, Kubo, and Yuuji who waved him over, as well as Miharu who ignored him, watching the door for her beloved Minami to walk through most likely. 

"Hey guys," Kouta greeted. 

"Move out of the way," Miharu snapped. "I don't want to talk to you disgusting _boys_." 

"Pleasure as always, Miharu," Kouta said sarcastically as he took a seat in the booth next to Yoshii. "Why is she here again?" 

"Doesn't want her precious Minami spending time with the revolting ex-boyfriend without her present." Yuuji shrugged and stretched his arms out across the back of the booth. It was a pretty big booth—it had to be since they were expecting so many people—so he had room to stretch out for the time being. 

"I'm not revolting!" Yoshii argued. 

"Of course not," Kubo said, putting a placating and on his boyfriend's shoulder. "Anyway, there's nothing between Akihisa and Minami now, so there's no reason to worry, Miharu." 

"You're on thin ice, Kubo," Miharu said, still not looking at anyone. 

"Just ignore her," Yuuji said.

"Minamiii!" Miharu shouted with delight. 

"Quiet down Miharu. We don't want to disrupt anybody's meal," Minami chided. 

"Okay my sweet Minami!" Miharu may have been completely obsessive, but she was also completely whipped. As soon as Minami finally returned her feelings, she was like a loyal puppy dog. Miharu scooted over to make room and clung to Minami's arm while they exchanged greetings. 

"So it looks like all we're waiting for now is Shoko and Aiii ay ay ay, I sure hope nobody invited that other bitch who's no longer part of our friend group because they're dumb and forgot." Yoshii sat straight up and his eyes widened in horror. "I didn't right?" He fished out is phone and double-checked who he'd cced on the invite. "Oh, thank god. I didn't, guys, no need to worry." 

"You know, just because she dumped me, doesn't mean you should call her a bitch behind her back. That's not cool, dude." 

"You know, it does feel kind of weird though," Yuuji commented. "I mean, when Yoshii and Minami broke up, our friend group got bigger, not smaller. It's been a couple months now, so I'm getting used to it, but at first it was just, weird man. Especially since Kouta was all mopey and refusing to talk to anyone, we lost two people for a while there."

"Yuuji," a blank voice interrupted. "Why didn't you greet me when I walked in the door?"

"Ah, Shoko!" Yuuji stiffened and his lips stretched in a forced smile that was frankly painful to look at. "Sorry, my back's to the door, so I didn't see you come in." When he finally looked at her though, he got quiet and stared, taking in how beautiful he looked in her red dress and lace-edged sweater. His fear of Shoko was genuine, but his hatred for her was greatly exaggerated. 

"Hey Shoko," Minami greeted with a smile that was much more genuine. "Here, Miharu and I will move so you can sit next to Yuuji." 

"Thank you." Shoko took her purse off her shoulder and slid across the bench before Minami and Miharu took their seats again. 

"I know I've complained about this before, but I hate that I'm the only one of us who's single again," Kouta said. He was sitting at the edge of the booth, the only one not part of a pair. Next to him was Yoshii, who had Kubo on his other side, then Yuuji with Shoko settling herself into his side while he grimaced with anxiety, then Miharu acting as a barrier between the rest of them and her beautiful Minami. "I'm so lonely." 

"Maybe not for long," Shoko said. "There's a beautiful woman at the bar who's been staring at you since I walked in. I thought she might be staring at Yuuji, so I've been keeping an eye on her." 

"Wow, she's gorgeous," Minami whispered. Kouta expected Miharu to get upset, but she just stared and nodded. 

"Hold on, I think I recognize her," Yoshii said. "She's the one who broke your legs!" 

"When did your legs get broken?" Kubo asked, confused. 

"No. Yoshii, you fucking moron," Kouta groaned. "She's a nurse at the hospital where I got my surgery, and she's the one who escorted me out in a wheelchair which is what he's remembering." 

"Well, she totally just winked at you dude," Yuuji said. "I think she's coming onto you. Hold on, she's pointing at the door." Kouta looked at the door, and for a moment nothing happened. Then, in walked the anesthesiologist, Dr. Kinoshita. Kouta ducked under the table as quickly as he could. "She's laughing. Why is she—Kouta?" Yuuji looked where Kouta was sitting and saw that he wasn't there anymore. 

"Why are you under the table?" Yoshii asked. 

"It's the anesthesiologist," Kouta hissed, trying his best not to be seen. 

"The insanely pretty girl who just walked in?" 

"I don't think that's a girl," Miharu corrected, narrowing her eyes. "I don't know what, but there's something about them. I can tell that's not a girl. It's like a sixth sense." 

"Is it because you're a raging lesbian?" Yoshii asked, then he seemed to realize something and leaned over to look at Kouta under the table. "Wait, you don't mean _the_ anklegeniust? The non-binary, _single_ animalinguist, that you confessed your love to?"

"You stray farther and farther from the correct pronunciation every time you say it." Kouta cringed. "Yes, that's the anesthesiologist." 

"Um. Full story. Now. And not from Akihisa." 

"Yuuji!"

"Get up Kouta, I gotta hear this." 

"He was nice. I was high on anesthesia. I accidentally called him Aiko and told him I loved him, and the rest of the surgical staff teased him by calling him Aiko during the surgery," Kouta explained as quickly as possible, rather than put up with all his friends pestering him for the rest of the night. "It was completely humiliating, and even though he was nice about it during the follow-up surgery, I didn't think I'd ever see him again." 

"Get out from under the table, man," Yuuji said with a sigh. "Freaking drama queen. I seriously doubt he's still mad at you. He's an anesthesiologist, so he deals with high people all the time." Kouta didn't move. "Besides, you look ridiculous hiding under the table like that. You're still totally visible."

Kouta reluctantly climbed out from under the table and back onto his seat. "Please tell me he hasn't noticed me yet. I think I might just die." 

"I think it's time we order some drinks, yes?" Kubo suggested. Thank you Kubo. 

They flagged down a waiter and placed their orders, all while subtly (or in some cases not-so-subtly) glancing at the anesthesiologist that Kouta was suddenly so nervous about. Once the waiter moved on, Yuuji started to talk. 

"So, they sit down at the bar, next to a coworker. The bartender clearly recognizes them because their drink was ready almost as soon as they sat down." 

"They must be a regular here, isn't that right Yuuji?" Shoko deduced, nestling further into her fiancé's side which he didn't even seem to take notice of this time. 

"Yeah, that's what I was getting at," Yuuji said. "That mysterious note that said to come here, Kouta found it in the clothes he wore right after his surgery, so it's totally possible that it got put there at the hospital and he didn't notice because he was still out of it from the anesthesia."

"I get it," Kubo said. "You think the anesthesiologist put the note there, as a way of asking to meet Kouta again." 

"No, I think it was the nurse," Yuuji corrected. "I mean judging by her reaction to seeing him and the fact that the anesthesiologist themself doesn't seem to have noticed him yet. My theory is that she slipped it in his pocket to try and set them up together." 

"Hey does the anesthesiologist have a name?" Minami asked with a sigh. "Anesthesiologist is a mouthful." They all turned to Kouta expectantly. 

"Not a chance." Kouta shook his head. "Jeez, and you call _me_ 'voyeur'."

"Whatever." Yoshii stood up and pushed Kouta out of their booth to get past him. "I'll just go ask." 

"What‽" Kouta was still on the floor when Yoshii reached the bar. A waiter brought their drinks to the table and stepped around Kouta as he left. All he could do was stare in horror. 


	4. See-You-Later Kisses

"Hey, you're the antsycoholist that did Kouta's surgery, aren't you?" he said amiably, leaning casually against the bar. "I'm Akihisa Yoshii, what's your name?" 

"Uh... what?" The doc stared at him in clear confusion. "My name's Hideyoshi Kinoshita but... what's an antsycoholist?" 

"Huh? Did I pronounce it wrong again?" He turned back to the booth and called out, "Toshi!" 

"Anesthesiologist," Kubo responded. He couldn't hear what Yoshii was saying from where he was sitting, but he could guess easily enough. 

"Aneshegiologist, yeah," Yoshii repeated incorrectly. "I'm Kouta's friend. He wouldn't tell us anything about you. Hello to you too, miss nurse," he greeted Himeji. 

"Mizuki Himeji," she said, blushing. 

"Would you two like to join us?" Yoshii invited. "We've got a big table, so there's plenty of room."

"We'd love to!" Himeji accepted immediately. "Come on, Hideyoshi." She grabbed his wrist, and he grabbed his drink and the three of them headed over to the booth where Kouta was just standing up, still in shock. 

Yoshii slid in first to sit next to his boyfriend as everyone else shifted to the left to make room. Then, before Kouta could take his place again, Himeji slipped in next to Yoshii, and Hideyoshi after her. Once again on the edge of the bench, Kouta sat down last, cheeks red. He'd mostly gotten over his frequent nosebleeds after high school, but when Hideyoshi's hand accidentally brushed against his thigh he felt a familiar pressure and hoped to high heaven he hadn't burst a blood vessel. 

"Hello, I'm Toshimitsu Kubo," Kubo greeted amiably, leaning forward to see the newcomers better. "I'm Yoshii's boyfriend."

"Nice to meet you," Himeji said and Hideyoshi nodded in agreement, though judging by her tight expression she was a bit disappointed to discover that Yoshii was taken. 

"Yuuji Sakamoto," Yuuji introduced. 

"And I'm his wife, Shoko Sakamoto." 

"She's Shoko _Kirishima_ , and I will marry you over my dead body," he said.

"If that's what it takes, then so be it." She didn't sound like she was joking. 

"Please don't go full yandere on us, Shoko," Yoshii said as her grip on Yuuji's arm tightened until he was whining in pain and one of the waitstaff had to come over and nervously ask her to stop because she was scaring the other customers. 

"Is he gonna be alright?" Hideyoshi asked Kouta quietly. 

"Yeah, he's used to it," Kouta answered. "I did say Shoko was psycho, didn't I?" 

"What about you two ladies?" Himeji asked.

"This is my radiant goddess Minami Shimada, and I'm Miharu Shimizu," Miharu introduced, clinging to her girlfriend's arm in a way that was much less threatening than how Shoko did it. Minami smiled softly at her. She used to get embarrassed when Miharu called her things like that, but she was used to it by now. Miharu almost never referred to her without using some superfluous epithet or another. 

Himeji introduced herself and Hideyoshi to the rest of the group, Hideyoshi clarified his preferred pronouns so they wouldn't mistake him for a girl, and then the interrogation began. 

"So you already knew Kouta from his surgery, right?" Yuuji asked, rolling his sore shoulder to try and get the feeling back after Shoko loosened her hold. 

"Correct," Hideyoshi answered. "He actually told me about some of you the second time."

"He told you about us, huh?" Yuuji said. "He must like you, because Kouta's not especially talkative." 

"Yeah, seriously," Minami said. "He has three siblings, but I thought he was an only child for years because he literally never mentioned them. We only found out because Kubo mentioned his little brother went to school with Kouta's little sister." 

"I've known him even longer than you have, and even I didn't find out until then," Yoshii said. 

"Yeah, but that's because you're really stupid," Yuuji said. "You even met one of his older brothers before that and didn't realize because you thought Kouta was his _last_ name."

"Hey!" Yoshi said, "That's not a nice thing to say. Toshi, you're my boyfriend, aren't you supposed to defend me or something." 

"I would if I had a suitable defense, Akihisa," Kubo responded, wrapping his arms around himself as if he were the true victim in all this. "As it stands, everything Yuuji says is accurate."

"Ah... I... eh... alright, fair..." Yoshii grumbled, slouching forward and sipping his drink dejectedly. 

"Oh, don't be like that," Kubo comforted. "I think it's cute that you're so clueless." 

"Thanks Toshi," Yoshii smiled, feeling genuinely comforted by that statement. 

"Get a room," Kouta rolled his eyes and Yoshii stuck his tongue out at him. 

"You're just jealous," he said. "Anyway Hideyoshi, have you ever dated before? Guys, girls, other?"

"Real subtle, Aki," Minami sighed. 

"I have had a couple boyfriends, and a girlfriend as well, but I haven't been in an especially serious relationship before," Hideyoshi answered. "I have been propositioned a lot, but I don't usually say yes because to be frank, it's rather vexing how often people ask me out." 

"Well you are unreasonably good-looking," Yuuji said, only for Shoko to jam her fingernail deep into his side while he yelped and leaned further towards Kubo. "Ow ow ow ow ow, come on, Shoko, please, it was just an observation, even you have to admit it, I'm not trying to cheat on you. Stop!"

"I am glad we made that rule that she can't have her taser when we're all eating together," Kubo remarked idly. "Otherwise I'd probably be feeling the shock of it as well right now. Not to mention that we wouldn't be able to claim plausible deniability under these circumstances." 

"Anyway, Yuuji is right," Yoshii said. "It's no wonder you get so many love confessions as pretty as you are. Hard to believe you'd be interested in a perv like Kouta?" 

"Whoever claimed that I was interested in him?" Hideyoshi asked, a light blush creeping up into his cheeks. "I assure you, I never said anything of the sort." 

"Oh, please, it was obvious," Himeji teased him. 

"I haven't that slightest idea what you mean!" Hideyoshi protested. "And in any case, Kouta, shouldn't you object in some manner about being called a perv?" 

"Why? It's not like it hasn't been said before." Kouta shrugged and drank some of his beer. "Besides, it's not like it isn't true." 

"Yeah. In high school, he made a comprehensive guidebook of the breast sizes of every girl in school," Yoshii said. "He had a personal surveillance system of hidden cameras he set up to spy on chicks throughout the school. He took dirty pics and sold them at exorbitant prices, we were all his customers at one point." 

"I was not!" Yuuji defended himself quickly, before Shoko could do something else to him. 

"Not for lack of trying," Kouta said. "I offered you so many pics of Shoko and you pretty much ran away screaming every time I brought 'em up." 

"Wait! No!" Yuuji shrieked. 

"Come on. That's not funny, Kouta," Yoshii said. 

"It's true though," Kouta said. "Anyway, Hideyoshi, if you're gonna hang out with us, you should probably know that much about me."

"Not like he couldn't have figured it out," Miharu said. "You do a terrible job of hiding it."

"Why hide it," Kouta said. "The photography skills I developed for the express purpose of perving on female classmates landed me a job at a fashion magazine, and now I basically do the same thing as in high school but nobody looks down on me for it, and all the girls are professional models." 

"I'm so jealous," Yoshii said, and when Kubo side-eyed him with a frown he added, "I wish I had any marketable skill at all." Kubo nodded, apparently satisfied. 

"Hehe, you guys are funny," Himeji said. "I'm glad I decided to give Kouta that note." 

"So it _was_ you then," Minami said. "Yuuji was right." 

"What note? What are you referring to?" Hideyoshi asked. 

"I gave him a note before he left that told him where you usually go after your shift on Saturdays," she explained. "I didn't think he'd bring all his friends along, but I'm kind of glad he did."

"I wouldn't have, if I had any context," Kouta muttered. "I didn't even remember where I got the note since I was still loopy at the time."

"So you did want a date with him, then?" she smiled teasingly. "I knew it."

"I mean, no..?" no one was convinced. "What am I saying, yes, obviously, but I wasn't ready to date again yet, and now I am." 

"Are you asking Hideyoshi on a date?" Yoshii said. 

"Sure, fuck it." He turned to look Hideyoshi in the eye and saw the blush on his pretty face darken. "Would you like to go on a date with me sometime?" There was a long pause as Hideyoshi tried to maintain his composure. 

"I would be honored," he responded. Kouta's friends cheered. 

"Can I have your number?" Kouta took out his phone and created a new contact for Hideyoshi who filled in his info. 

They continued after that, ordering food, and swapping stories for a few hours until Kouta's friend group inevitably asked the newcomers about their sexualities. 

"So out of our friend group," Minami said, "Kouta is the only straight one, and even he said he'd be perfectly happy dating a trans woman or an assigned male non-binary person if he thought they were hot. Yuuji and I are both bi, and Yuuji's preferences are pretty much equal, although I _generally_ go for guys more than girls. Miharu is a lesbian, but unlike Kouta, she says she would not date a non-binary person, even an assigned female one because she's only attracted to girls. Shoko is a demiromantic bi, but she'll never look at anyone besides Yuuji, so it barely matters. Yoshii is, pan I think, right Yoshii?" he nodded. "And Kubo is gay." 

"I have been attracted to a woman before."

"That was Akihisa in a maid dress and a wig," Yuuji argued. 

"But I _thought_ it was a girl." 

"The thought doesn't count in this case, man," Kouta said. "You were attracted to his face. I don't know why you're trying to deny it, I mean it's not like you don't identify yourself as gay despite that." 

"Anyway, what about you two?" Minami asked. 

"Well, you know already that I'm non-binary, though I prefer my assigned pronouns," Hideyoshi said. "I don't know that I have a label for my sexuality. I feel attracted to very few people, and I can't say I really know what the criteria is."

"That's cool," Minami says. "It's not like labels are the most important thing in a relationship anyway. What about you Himeji?" 

"Oh I'm ace, but heteroromantic," Himeji said. "Although, I'm not opposed to the idea of dating a girl; I've just never wanted to date any girl in particular."

"I've never met an ace person before," Kouta remarked. "I actually find that kind of impressive. I can't even imagine not feeling sexual attraction." 

"Maybe if you didn't you wouldn't be anemic," Minami teased. 

"I'm not anymore!" 

"Kouta was anemic?" Himeji asked, cocking her head. 

"Yeah, back in high school—"

"Wait, don't tell this story!" Kouta tried to stop, but Yoshii continued, unperturbed. 

"He would get a nosebleed anytime something remotely sexual happened, even if it was only in his imagination. Honestly I'm surprised he could be as much of a perv as he was without dying of blood loss." 

Kouta moaned in despair. "Why'd you have to tell 'em _that_?" 

"They're basically part of our friend group already," Yoshii said. "Knowing embarrassing stories about you, as well as the rest of us, is their god-given right!" 

"In that case," Kouta said, "they should know that it it took you five years to graduate high school, and that you used to think one sixty-fourth of a cup of instant ramen constituted a full meal, and that you tried to eat chopsticks on multiple occasions, and that you thought a fork was a type of weapon when you first saw one, and the exact number of times you've cross-dressed in a maid costume in public."

"It was only four times," Yoshii said. 

"Yeah, the standard number of times for a guy to do that is _zero_ ," Yuuji said. 

"Shut uuup!" Yoshii whined. "Toshiiii, they're bullying me!"

"Perhaps Shoko would like to know about the time you and Yoshii dated for two weeks, halfway through third year." Kubo said. 

"You and I were already engaged at the beginning of third year, Yuuji," Shoko said, and not a moment later, Yuuji was screaming again. 

"Middle school!" Yuuji cried out in desperation. "That was in middle school, Shoko! Please don't kill me!" 

A waiter came by again and asked if they could please quiet down or he would have to ask them to leave as they were disturbing the other guests. 

As they left the restaurant and went their separate ways, Kouta's friends all congratulating him on his healed shoulder as that _was_ the reason for this get-together in the first place, Hideyoshi hung back to talk to Kouta a little bit more. 

"I had a lovely time tonight," he said. "I must say, I'm glad you professed your love to me before, even if you did think I was someone else at the time." 

"Heh, yeah, me too." Kouta reached down and took Hideyoshi's hand in his own. "Hey so, I've never had a uh... well... I mean I've only ever dated girls so, I hope it's okay if I'm a little clueless about some things. I do want to try, but I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"I'm certain it will be fine," Hideyoshi told him. "I don't believe it is all that different, boyfriend, girlfriend, _partner_."

"Ok, partners then," Kouta said.

Hideyoshi smiled and nodded. "Partners."

"Do partners accept see-you-later kisses?" Kouta asked. 

"Partners _adore_ see-you-later kisses."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually headcanon Kouta as grey/aromantic, but that didn't fit very well into this particular fic. I hope you enjoyed reading this! Love y'all. 
> 
> <3 Raaor!


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